Golf club



A. S. [LES GOLF CLUB May 22, 1934.

Filed June 26, 1930 Patented May 22, 1934 "smart; sra

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} GOLF CLUB A lbert Stanley Il es, Hoylake, England 7 Application June 26, 1930, Serial No.464,021

V In Great Britain June 2, 1930' v '7 Claims.

The present invention relates to golf clubs.

The object of the invention is to provide a golf club which in additionto its ordinary use in the playing of the game is' adapted to assist in the picking up of golf balls by a player either from the green or out of a hole.

According to the present invention a golf club has an opening in the sole of the head which is capable of expansion to allow a ball to pass therethrough, and of contraction after such expansion to retain said ball above the opening.

According to another aspect of the invention, a golf club is provided in which an opening sufiiciently large to accommodate a golf ball extends upwardly through the head from the sole thereof, resilient means being provided for retaining a ball in the opening and passage of the diametral plane of the ball passes the sole. In a preferred form of construction a disc or washer of rubber or like resilient material having an opening therein of less diameter than that of a golf ball, is provided and such opening adjacent the sole of the club.

The head may be formed of two portions, an

outer shell having an inwardly extending lip or flange forming the sole of the club, and an inner member adapted to secure the disc or' washer against said lip.

lhe invention is more particularly described with reference to the accompanying drawing which shows one form of construction by way of example, and in which I Figure 1 is a sectional side elevation.

Figure 2 is a plan view.

As shown in the drawing, a golf club head is formed of an outer shell 1 having an inwardly extending lip or flange 2 forming the solefof the club and an inner portion 3 screw threaded into said outer portion and having-a passage and opening 10 therethrough. An annular disc 4 is provided adjacent the sole between said lip 2 and the lower end of the inner portion 3.

The disc 4 is provided at its outer periphery with a beading 5 adapted for engagement with a correspondingly inclined surface 6 on the lower end of the inner portion 3, whereby the periphery of the disc is wedged outwardly against the shell 1. It will be appreciated of course, that other forms of beading could be employed for securing the disc in position. The inner portion 3 has a recess 7 formed on its inner surface for accommodation of part of the disc 4 when bent upwardly as shown in dotted lines, to allow passage through the sole of a golf ball 8. Thus when it is desired to pick up a golf ball, the sole of the club is pressed over the top of the ball, so that the disc orwasher 4 is bent upwardly to cause enlargement of the opening 9 therein, whereon the ball passes through' the sole into the position shown in Figure 1, whereupon the disc 4 returns to its normal position and retains the ball within the opening 10. The club may then be lifted and the ball removed from the club head.

Holes or notches 11 may be provided in said inner portion 3 for engagement by a spanner to screw the same tightly into position.

7 It will be appreciated that the inner portion 3 may be adapted to slide into the outer shell 1 and secured in position by screws extending axial ly'or radially through the club head. Variation in such modes of connection'of course, would necessitate, a slight alteration in the shape of the parts 1, 2 and 3. The various parts of the head may be madereither of metal or of wood, and if desired, a metal head may be provided with-a wooden covering 12' on the face, as shown in Figure 2.

It is preferable so to designthe club head that it can be easily inserted into ajhole in a golf course, and for this purpose the dimension ofthe head is shown in full scalein the drawing, is less than 3% inches over all.

I declare that what I claim is:--

1. A golf ball retriever having the shape of a golf club with head and shaft, saidhead having an opening in the sole thereofof greater diameter than a golf ball, and including a perforated disc of resilient material mounted in said opening adjacent the sole. V

2. A golf ball retriever having the shape of a golf club with head and shaft, said head having an opening in the sole thereof of greater diameter than a golf ball, an inwardly extending portion on said head projecting into said opening, a perforated disc of resilient material in said opening, and an annular member in said head for cooperating with said portion to maintain said disc in position, at least a portion of the internal diameter of said member having a greater diameter than a golf ball.

3. A golf ball retriever having the shape of a golf club with head and shaft, said head having a cavity thereinwith an opening through the sole of greater diameter thana golf ball and a radially inwardly projecting flange around'the lower end of the opening for forming at the bottom a part of the sole and at its top a shoulder, a perforated disc of resilient material located in the in position.

head and bearing against the disc for holding it '4; A golf ball retriever having the shape of a golf club with head and shaft, said head having a cavity therein with an opening near thesole of greater diameter than a golf ball, a perforated disc of resilient material located in the cavity and having a peripheral lip, and an annular member located in the cavity and attach ed to the head and bearing against the disc for holding it in position, said member having a portion'fitting inside the said lip whereby to hold the lip between said portion and the cavity wall.

5. A golf ball retriever comprising a shaft and a head having a ball-receivingrecess open: ing of slightly greater diameter than'a golf ball,

said head having a shell with an integral flange at its sole extending into the recess andt having a ball-engaging resilient ring resting against the,

inner surface of said flange and extending into the opening to be engaged by a ball in passing-into the recess, said head including means to hold,

bounded by sides, sole and crown, said head having a ball-receiving recess including an opening in the sole of slightly greater diameter than a 7 golf ball and surrounded by head structure of annular cross-section in a plane parallel to the sole, a shaft joined to the annular structure at a point offset from the axis of said recess, and a ball-engaging resilient member mounted in said head and extendinginto said recess and adapted to be resiliently compressed against the head by the ball on passage of the ball into said recess.

. 7 A golf ball retriever comprising a shaft and ahead bounded by sides, sole and crown, said head, having a ball-receiving recess including an opening in the sole of slightly greater diameter than a golf ball, and a ball-engaging resilient member mountedinsaid head and extending into said recess and adapted to be resiliently compressed against the head by the ball on passage of the 'ballinto said recess and to remain in said compressed condition between the balland the head to hold the ballinsaid recess.

ALBERT STANLEY ILES. 

